A typical loading dock of a building includes an exterior doorway with an elevated platform for loading and unloading vehicles, such as trucks and trailers. To compensate for height differences between the loading dock platform and an adjacent bed of a truck or trailer, many loading docks have a dock leveler. A typical dock leveler includes a deck or ramp that is pivotally hinged along its back edge to vary the height of its front edge. A retractable extension plate or lip pivots or translates outward from the deck's front edge to span the gap between the rear of the truck bed and the front edge of the deck. Thus, the deck and lip provide a bridge between the dock's platform and the vehicle's bed so that personnel and material handling equipment can readily move on and off the vehicle during loading and unloading operations.
Many dock levelers have a pit in which the deck can descend to a cross-traffic position where the upper surface of the deck is generally flush with the platform. Some pits underneath the deck contain power actuators and other mechanisms for operating the dock leveler. To gain access to such mechanisms for maintenance, cleaning or other service operations, it might be necessary to fully raise the deck above the cross-traffic position. For safety, the raised deck should be securely braced before working underneath it. An example for bracing a deck in a raised position is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,546,623, which is specifically incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.